Hoofprints pressed into fresh-turned soil are proof that the newer trails cleared at Cherry Grove Preserve are already in use.

The Newtown Forest Association's (NFA) recent purchase of former Cherry Grove Farm property preserves nearly 30 acres of forest, meadows, and streams, and also connects adjoining town open space and other NFA properties. The land is open to the public.

A one-room antique school house on Palestine Road is now gone, after sale to a private owner, said NFA vice president Bart Smith. The stone foundation remains, however, and borders a newer parking area established there.

Walking through grassy fields, Mr Smith said some paths already existed, thanks to travel by deer and people. Developer Greg Carnrick, who sold the property to the NFA, did much of the site work on clearing trails and building footbridges across streams.

Stepping into the shade of one "meandering trail," Mr Smith noted natural features, including rock formations and ancient trees. Cedars, felled by time and weather, scatter the property.

Welcoming horses, people, bicycles, "anything not motorized," Mr Smith cautions guests to stay on the trails to avoid wet areas.

Hiking down a sloped stretch of trail, he noted a "mounded island," where the land swelled on the other side of a stream, creating a hill at the center of the preserve.

Thanks to Mr Carnrick's handiwork - a wooden footbridge built of materials found on site - to cross the stream, Mr Smith hiked up the incline, saying, "I think people will want to wander and see the natural features."

The roughly 29-acre preserve abuts seven acres of open space, which then connects to another NFA preserve. The property "will be great" for visitors and leashed dogs, he said.

Pausing to listen to the stream, he then turned toward a break in a stone wall, marking the border to town open space that was previously landlocked. He said that Cherry Grove is valuable in itself and for tying pieces of open space together.

Mr Smith hopes to keep the property natural, potentially with split rail fencing to mark boundaries.

Purchasing Cherry Grove

NFA members on May 17 closed on a deal sparing more than 29 undeveloped acres of the former Cherry Grove Farm. The private land trust's most recent acquisition will offer public access to the former farm.

"We are looking forward to people being able to get to enjoy the preserve and could not be more excited," Mr Smith had said.

Purchasing 17 acres to add to its land ownership, the NFA's acquisition will be coupled with about 13 acres of what would otherwise be town-owned open space, per subdivision regulations. In March the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members agreed that the town will allow the NFA to own the open space land, resulting in the preservation of nearly 30 acres.

An agreement with the farm's then-owner, Mr Carnrick, a Sandy Hook builder and owner of GRC Construction LLC, made the sale possible.

Financial donations from 400-plus individuals and organizations as of late last year and into early 2018 made the $600,000 sale possible.

Also contributing to the purchase were town funds. During its regular meeting June 4, the Board of Selectmen unanimously endorsed spending $100,000 from a town open space fund to purchase a development easement at Cherry Grove Farm.

The easement and its related expenses, according to First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, is consistent with guidelines set forth in the Town Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) and is being done in partnership with the NFA, which raised the balance of funds needed.

A parking area on Palestine Road offers access to the Cherry Grove Preserve, located at the corner of Palestine, Beaver Dam Road, and Platts Hill Road.